Baffins moms-to-be don’t get enough food

Pot and tobacco smoking common among pregnant women

By JANE GEORGE

YELLOWKNIFE — Most pregnant women in the Baffin region of Nunavut are malnourished and smoke too much, says a Government of Nunavut research study presented at the recent International Congress of Circumpolar Health in Yellowknife.

“Our mothers are malnourished,” Janet Brewster, the GN’s manager of health protection, said during the conference.

“If I can eat one time in the day, that is okay,” says a woman quoted in the study, entitled “Anaana,” which means “mother” in Inuktitut.

The study looked at more than 100 pregnant women in the Baffin region.

Researchers found that most of them smoke tobacco and marijuana, habits that are linked to life-long health problems in women and their children.

“The health status of pregnant Inuit women in Nunavut is not as good as it could be,” Brewster said.

But for many pregnant women, eating well is the least of their problems because they are just trying to get through the day, Brewster said in her presentation.

A high percentage of the participants in the “Anaana” study were aged 20 to 24. Many worked or gained some income from social assistance.

A quarter had graduated from high school.

Interviews and analyses of their blood samples reveal:

More than six in 10 smoke and, of these, more than half are heavy smokers, puffing nine to 36 cigarettes daily;

More than six in 10 smoke marijuana and, of these, one in five smokes pot daily;

Many have high levels of the heavy metal cadmium in their blood, which comes from smoking and can lead to kidney and lung problems;

Many continue to drink alcohol during pregnancy;

Eight in 10 lack vitamin D, a deficiency that can stunt growth and is also linked to cancer, heart disease, and auto-immune conditions like diabetes and influenza;

Nearly half don’t eat enough, some skipping meals and eating only once a day; and

Most say they would eat more country food if it were available.

On the average, pregnant women now smoke about two and a half cigarettes per day more than they did 10 years ago, researchers found.